Sunday, November 13, 2011

Baby Love

I hope your weekend has been going well. I've stayed busy most of the weekend up in my craft corner working on projects and trying to get caught up...ha! Oh well...a girl can dream!

I did accomplish one major project this weekend for my post today over at Pink By Design. I made a sweet, sweet mini album for a very dear friend who is expecting a little girl in a few short months...

Let me show you how I put this sweet little album together...

1. The first step to creating a mini album is to decide on a base. You can make your own pages using chipboard or purchase a pre-made mini album. I usually buy my minis at Michael's right out of the dollar bin. They have a fabulous selection of shapes to choose from. Here's a sample of some albums I have picked up from Michael's and added to my stash...

(are these cute or what?)

2. After you decide on the shape of your album, it's time to cover your pages with cardstock. I like to use a paper stack so that all my page coordinate really well. Once you choose your paper, turn it over on the back, trace a page from your album and cut out...

3. Next it's time to glue your cardstock to the chipboard. I like to use Zip Dry glue for this. Give your glue a few minutes to dry then look at the edges of your page. I find that after cutting and gluing, I usually have a less than perfect fit. So, I use my sander to smooth out the edges and give a more finished look. After sanding, I ink up all the edges and punch the holes in my cardstock...

4. After you cover the pages of your album, it's time for the fun part...time to decorate the pages! For the cover of my book, I used the Cricut cartridge Sophisticated to cut out the flower and banner. The banner is cut at 2 inches and I added the letters to spell Audrey, then covered the entire banner with Glossy Accents. I wanted something a bit different for the center of my flower, so I used the stamp set Baby Love from Pink By Design to stamp the sentiment Welcome Baby onto a piece of white cardstock. Next, I used my new toy, the I Top to create a brad from my stamped image...

After assembling the flower, I sprayed the whole thing with spray adhesive and sprinkled on Martha Stewart's coarse glitter in Crystal. Before adhering the flower to the cover, I added a couple strips of green tulle to my flower...

For the next 2 pages, I used the Cricut cartridge New Arrival to cut out the stork (4 inches) and the baby (3 inches). The cute little baby face is from the stamp set Boy Mates Face Assortment from Peachy Keen Stamps. I also used the April Showers cartridge to cut out a cloud at 4 inches. I ran the cloud through my Cuttlebug using the Divine Swirls folder and inked it up using blue ink. The sentiment Made In Heaven is also from the PBD stamp set Baby Love...

I used the cartridge Baby Steps for the next pages. That cute little onesie is cut at 2 inches and the buttons are created from a Martha Stewart punch. After punching out the buttons, I covered them in Glossy Accents. The hat is layered onto a a mat created using the Spellbinders die Eyelet Circles. I also stamped the sentiment Cute As A Button from the Baby Love stamp set onto the mat...

The cute bathtub scene is created with the Cricut cartridge Baby Steps. The cuts are made at 4 inches and I covered all the bubbles with Diamond Stickles. The words stamped on the bubbles are from the stamp set Faith from Pink By Design. For this baby face, I used the stamp set Wide Eyed Kids from Peachy Keen Stamps. On the second page, I used the same duck, but cut it out at 5.5 inches. The sentiment Adorable is from the Baby Love stamp set...

For the back cover, I pulled out the cartridge New Arrival again and cut the moon out at 4.5 inches. I embossed the moon with embossing folder Polka Dots and added white flock to his hat. I used a Spellbinders die for a mat to stamp this adorable little sentiment from the Baby Love stamp set. For a final touch, I scattered a few punched stars and covered them with Diamond Stickles...

5. After decorating all your pages, it's time to assemble the book using the metal rings included with the album. Then, to add to the girly look, I cut strips of tulle in white, pink and green and tied them around the metal rings. And there you go!

I really enjoyed putting this fun little album together and look forward to presenting it to my friend. I so hope she loves it! And, I hope you have enjoyed your time here today. I always look forward to your visits and your kind comments. Thanks for stopping by!

18 comments:

Wow! Your mini album looks great. I have some of these from Michaels too. I buy them when they are marked down and they are beginning to pile up. Thanks for the pictorial. I will pull them out and see what I can come up with now. : )

This is STUNNING!!! STUNNING!!! The entire design is so amazing! I really wanted the New Arrival cartridge and should have picked it up when I had the chance. Oh well. I love every little detail in this album! Love it!

Oh the lucky mommy-to-be to receive such a sweet gift. She'll love filling it with precious memories. Great tutorial as well. You are just so creative and thoughtful. And, I smile everytime I open your blog - I love the blog design!!!

This little book is absolutely gorgeous. I have a couple of those chipboard books from the dollar bin, but haven't had an opportunity to use them yet. (oh that sounds so familiar) I love your tutorial. I will be ready when the inspiration hits. What a cute idea to made your own brad using a stamped sentiment and put it in your flower. I have never seen that before. Genius really. Love this post. You have outdone yourself again!

This little mini is just adorable Tanya, love it! The colors are so soft and sweet as are the inside pages you created. Thank you for showing us your process for creating the album. I love to see how others do these kinds of things, it's very helpful!